Turns out, the return of star outside linebacker T.J. Watt Sunday at Acrisure Stadium against the New Orleans Saints did wonders for some key players in the trenches on both sides of the football for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With Watt back in the lineup drawing major attention from the Saints, third-year outside linebacker Alex Highsmith turned a star-level performance opposite him against the Saints, as did veteran defensive tackle and team captain Cameron Heyward in the 20-10 win over the Saints, which saw the Steelers’ defense pitch a shutout in the second half.
Highsmith recorded five tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, tackle for loss and a quarterback hit in the win, while Heyward recorded three runs stops and played a critical part in the Saints’ turnover on downs in the second half, stuffing Alvin Kamara on third and one before then pairing with Larry Ogunjobi to blow up the failed quarterback sneak attempt by Andy Dalton.
For their efforts defensively, Highsmith and Heyward were the two highest-graded defensive players for the Steelers in the Week 10 win via Pro Football Focus. Highsmith graded out at a 91.4, while Heyward graded out at 89.9 on the day.
Offensively, left tackle Dan Moore Jr. turned in what appears to be, at least according to Pro Football Focus, his best performance of the season. Moore graded out at an 88.3 overall, which was the best grade offensively for the Steelers in Sunday’s win.
On the day, Moore allowed just three pressures and one sack on 45 pass block reps against the Saints, earning his third-best pass blocking grade of the season. Moore was dominant as a run blocker though, recording a career-best run blocking grade of 91.3, which factored into his best grade every overall offensively against the Saints.
Those performances led the trio of Steelers to land on PFF’s Team of the Week for Week 10 in the NFL.
Moore joined the likes of Indianapolis Colts left guard Quenton Nelson, Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow, Green Bay Packers right guard Jon Runyon and Arizona Cardinals right tackle Kelvin Beachum in the trenches offensively for PFF.
Defensively, Heyward was joined by New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence along the defensive line, while Highsmith was joined by Miami Dolphins EDGE Melvin Ingram III at the edge position.
